Showing posts with label Marvel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marvel. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Comic Zone Audio Now on Video: Fun Resource Materials for ESL students at UMAR Huatulco: Thor Journey into Mystery, Midnight Tales and Black Axe


Comic Zone audio now includes audio comics on Youtube.




Realizing how important it was for ESL students to extend their learning into authentic materials beyond the assigned grammar texts, the Comic Zone began years ago at UMAR Huatulco as a small library in my office for ESL students.    Over the years, bit by bit, a rather extensive collection has accumulated.  The dinosaur below guards the VIP collection for our most trusted members.  There is a lot more in that crowded office. 

.  
After the pandemic I decided to use the Google Classroom platform to post audio recordings of some of the comics in the collection for students to listen to as they read.  We were all so happy to return to in person classes but our new internet tools still had some advantages.   Hearing the words pronounced correctly is crucial.

We were still restricting access to teacher's offices on our first semester so a couple of crates were hauled down to the street in front of the Language Center during lunch breaks.


The first recordings were simply dramatic readings but my methods soon included mood music and sound effects.  This has slowed down productivity but the results have been worth it.

But then I began my sabbatical.  While, the Comic Zone is all locked up until my return, students can still access the mp3s on the Comic Zone Audio Google Classroom page. And welcome one and all.

 
 The collection still continues to grow.  This papier-mache box of classic Batman comics was recovered from my parent's basement on a recent visit to my hometown of Saint John, NB.   I might need a bigger office.   A few audio productions from this box have already begun.
 



So far we have Midnight Tales issue 8 from Charlton comics, recovered from the new-to-us box.  The Midnight Philosopher and Arachne visit a friend at an isolated lighthouse and help learn the truth about a beautiful mysterious castaway suffering from memory loss







The first three issues of  Marvel's Black Axe, from the early 90s, the very fringe of the Marvel Universe.


Black Axe battles HYDRA.



Black Axe battles the Hand in Japan.



Black Axe battles Mephisto.


The most recent additions are these early adventures of Thor from classic silver age Marvel.


Loki's first appearance!



Thor becomes a prisoner of communists!



Loki returns to terrorize Midgard for the second time.  This time, he's really mad.  Mad enough to release tigers and transform streets into candy.  Seriously.



That's the whole collection for now.    In the future, I hope to enlist students for the audio performances and editing when I return from sabbatical.  We can do multiple takes for pronunciation until we nail it right.  Great practise for ESL students and it would be so much nicer to hear a wider variety of voices.    






















 

Thursday, February 4, 2016

The Mighty Thor, God of Thunder: classic style costume

Having made mjolnir and some helmets courtesy of dali - lomo's instructions, it seemed almost mandatory to go ahead and make a complete costume.  I did even though  I can't sew.  Even if I knew how, it would take me forever to get the thread through a needle.  I managed all the same, with the help of a talented seamstress for the cape.

I think I look rather noble in this pic.  I feel powerful. 


The design is copied from the classic 1960s comic. The princess wig is pretty shaggy but the helmet keeps it out of my eyes.  The medallions are lids from olive jars, attached with safety pins, scrap plastic and contact cement.  The shirt used to advocate wearing a motorcycle helmet.  I turned it inside out, cut off the sleeves, painted six circles cut from a cereal box and stuck them on with spray circle.  That means I'll probably have to replace them after the first wash but, in the meantime, I'll try not to sweat too heavily.

When I wear the entire ensemble, I'll be wearing jeans, not tights.  It doesn't look like Thor himself wore tights on his legs.  It looks more like body paint really.  I've figured out I could probably make fake boots with a cardboard shin splint and some yellow emergency police tape but I may not bother.  The same for the belt he wears high across his shirt.  Do I really need one?
       
 
Yeah, maybe the belt wouldn't be a bad idea.  Thor's belly never popped out when he summoned lightning.
 
Hey, look.  It's Thor and Jane Foster!  With all this beauty and intelligence, no wonder he abandoned Asgard to live here on Midgard.
 
 
No, that's really Adriana, the highly skilled seamstress who cut this magnificent cape for me in less than 5 minutes.  Thank you so much, Adriana.  Regular readers of this blog may remember her and the cool snowgirl costumes she made for our Umarela Christmas parade last December, 2015. That's not the real Thor either.  Just me.

Recent Thor related videos.  Audio comics,